One of the early promises of software-as-a-service and cloud computing was that it would allow start-ups to directly market their Web services while skipping the expensive, lengthy process of creating an ecosystem of partners and resellers.
“Building the channel” was an antiquated strategy, they argued, a legacy of on-premises dinosaurs such as Oracle Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
Cloud providers thought, “We can directly reach these people, so we don’t need to invest in other channels outside of our brand,” said Tiffani Bova, a Gartner Inc. analyst.
One of the early promises of software-as-a-service and cloud computing was that it would allow start-ups to directly market their Web services while skipping the expensive, lengthy process of creating an ecosystem of partners and resellers.
“Building the channel” was an antiquated strategy, they argued, a legacy of on-premises dinosaurs such as Oracle Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
Cloud providers thought, “We can directly reach these people, so we don’t need to invest in other channels outside of our brand,” said Tiffani Bova, a Gartner Inc. analyst.
Deals, discounts used to attract partners to sell vendors’ services